Ass Watching and Ice Cream Cake
by MeredithBrody
Summary: Pride tried to keep who he was seeing hidden, and was secretly glad she had nothing to do with the online dating. ((Prody post-ep for 2x13))


**It finally happened, it's only taken 13 episodes, but I finally got a great Prody inspiration. There is just a hint of Brames in here too (I can't help it) but this is basically 100% fulff... blamed on the fact that Pride was totally checking Brody out in that last scene. It was great.  
-Shin xx**

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Pride had left all his agents to go home, thinking that after how emotionally taxing this case had been they all really needed to be at home, or at the very least they needed to be away from this office. That was the only downside he had to his living arrangement, he had nowhere to escape to when this job got too much, though since owning his bar he'd had considerably more choice. He was still just sat in the chair where he'd stopped and sat when everyone had left and heard a voice coming from the doorway. "I saw you checking my ass out, you know?"

"Oh did you?" He grinned as he turned round to see Brody standing in the doorway watching him. She'd left with Patton and LaSalle, but obviously had decided to circle back. He was thankful for that, as at least it meant he wouldn't be alone right now. He may have gotten messages on these sites, but the didn't really have an interest. He already had his girl. The only one he wanted right now, and she did have a very nice ass.

"Well. Felt it more than saw it." She smiled, moving from where she'd been leant to walk behind him, running her fingers along his shoulders as she did. All of this had started from these late nights talking in the office after the rest had gone home, it seemed that no matter the case, worry or threat they were facing, that time alone stayed the same. They found time to sit here and process things, together.

"The others gone?" He had to ask, mostly so he knew how professional he needed to be. He could have guessed from the change in her demeanour that they were alone, but there was no use in taking chances, this team had set him up before, and he wasn't about to get caught with his pants down, literally or figuratively, again.

"Yep, I told LaSalle I needed to pick something up for Loretta so I was gonna walk home and grab a streetcar. He and Patton are off licking their wounds." Her smile told him that when she said the boys were licking their wounds, it probably meant they were going to a bar somewhere, and no doubt Patton would be dragged along with them. It was then that she levelled him with a slightly more serious look. "You could have been subtler, telling them you were doing fine on your own."

"You mean I'm not?" He was teasing, but he knew what she was getting at. He had definitely hinted that he was doing something with someone, but he had tried to include her in what he'd said so that the boys wouldn't have even thought anything, but it was probably possible. Still, teasing her seemed like a better way to dodge the question.

"I mean… we're still keeping this casual, right?" She asked that quietly, and he could understand that after the last few days she might need that reassurance. He had no intention of making this more than she wanted it to be, so if that was it, that was it. "That's what we said, no interference, no commitments." He remembered that discussion too. That it wouldn't affect their work, or their lives. That they weren't exclusive. Which given Brody's similarly undefined relationship with her ex fiance he was happy to give her.

"Merri." He started and shook his head slightly and moved around so he could put his hands on her knees. There were not many ways he could convince her of anything, as she tended to see through it, so the best thing was for him to speak the truth. He wasn't going to say they were or weren't anything, but at the same time he also wasn't going to say nothing. "We're taking it as we're taking it. Nothing more than that."

"Good, because I'd hate for something to go to waste." That piqued his attention. She had something she didn't want to go to waste, and that was probably going to be good for him. He hoped so at least. It wasn't often she came to sit like this when they hadn't planned it, but if she had something she was thinking about it was even better for him. When she didn't continue speaking he just looked at her, wondering if she would say without prompting. The answer was, probably not.

"What's that?" He asked eventually, after giving her several long moments in which to say something, anything really, about what she had in her mind. He was probably playing a dangerous game if he tried to push her any further. She tended to stop doing anything when she was pushed, it was something he'd learnt about her early in her assignment here.

Instead of saying a word, she stood up and pulled him to his feet. After a second she just nodded toward the fridge unit and smiled before looking at him. "Open the freezer." It wasn't a question or an order. More a simple request, and that made him even more confused about what on Earth this was all about.

"Why?" He had to question it. Other than drinks and leftovers Brody tended to avoid the kitchen area. That was his domain in this building, even more so than his room, and really none of his agents dare breach the sanctity of his kitchen. Mostly because they all knew if they moved something out of place, he'd probably just shoot them.

"Just do it. Go on." She nodded and smiled, and he couldn't really resist the excited little face she was making. Whatever she'd put in the freezer, she was happy about it and was glad to be able to show him. As he pulled the box toward him he recognised what was in it, and had to laugh a little.

"You bought an ice-cream cake?" He asked, turning to her after shutting the freezer and laughed, putting the tupperware box on the counter and pulling Brody into his arms, kissing her forehead softly. It seemed silly to him that she'd hidden an ice-cream cake in the freezer.

"No, I made an ice-cream cake. Cherry Garcia." OK she'd somehow remembered his favourite ice-cream, he'd probably only mentioned that once, or maybe twice in the summer. She did have a weird memory though, he knew that. She still remembered Gibbs' coffee order, and other than her first case here she hadn't seen him in ten years. So maybe he should have been less surprised.

"Why did you make an ice-cream cake?" He asked quietly, because he was sure that there was some sort of story there He didn't know what it was, but Pride was sure there was a story. At Brody's blush he just smiled even wider, she was really adorable when she did that.

"Because I wanted one..." She said after a second or two of complete silence, and then she looked to him and bit her lip before continuing. "And I brought it here because I wanted to share it with you." She then turned and pulled a spoon each out of the drawer, and as she handed him one she paused and looked up at him, clearly wanting to say something but not knowing how or what. "Look, you know I'm terrible with words and telling people how I feel but… This is my way of showing you that you are really important to me."

One of the first things he'd realised about her was that Brody was the sort who buried her feelings. He knew plenty of people were the same, but Brody occasionally took it to an extreme. She often refused to acknowledge she had feelings at all. So for her to tell him so clearly that he meant something to her, it meant she trusted him, with far more than just her safety. "Thank you."

"Now. Can we go back to me not feeling things and eat the cake please." She tried to laugh, and he pulled her back into his arms again, this time leaning down and kissing her full on the mouth just about as hard as he could. He'd been watching her all day wishing he could do that.

"Sure, we can eat the cake." Pride said eventually, and the look of relief on Brody's face told him she was glad he hadn't said something in kind. The truth was though, he liked knowing that she cared, and he liked knowing how she felt about him. "But I kinda like you feeling things. At least when the things are about me."

"Of course." She laughed, and he was glad that she was at least able to laugh at his teasing her. Sometimes things got lost in communication, but not right now, it seemed. He was happy about that, and more than that, he was glad that she was there. But that sent him back to thinking about what LaSalle had done, and whether or not Brody had really not been involved.

"Were you really not involved at all in the profile?" He asked, and she shook her head and smiled. At least knowing that meant he felt like he had someone on his side in all of this.

"Nope, I was out from the minute it was mentioned. I thought you wouldn't want us picking out your dates." Brody grinned, and he had to admit she had a point. No matter how much he loved Patton and LaSalle, he would never, ever let them pick his dates. Brody on the other hand, she'd have an idea of what was to his taste.

"Well, I don't mind you picking out my dates, as long as you're on them with me." That would be his caveat, she would have to actually _be_ his date. He wasn't going to just go with any girl around, that wasn't what he wanted, it never had been.

"You are really laying on the charm tonight, Dwayne Pride." Brody smirked, taking a spoonful of the ice-cream and eating it slowly, he had to tear his eyes away from that sight, or he was going to be pulling her up to his room long before he was actually ready to go for that tonight.

"I feel like after the last couple of days, you deserve it." He tried to think of a way to make that sound less corny, and decided that bringing up the children they called co-workers was probably the easiest and fastest way. "Mostly for putting up with Christopher and Patton."

"Chris is like a puppy, you keep praising him and don't give him too many treats and he behaves himself." That was a succinct summary of Christopher LaSalle, and one that Pride unfortunately couldn't entirely disagree with.

"Until he pees on your floor." Pride commented, trying to sound serious. He was pretty sure he failed at that, but he tried nonetheless. It was too funny a mental image not to share though.

"If I get a dog I am never leaving you alone with it." She laughed loudly and shook her head. He couldn't really imagine her with a dog, it just didn't seem to go together in his mind, he pictured Brody more with rabbits. "Who am I kidding, I work too much for a dog."

He thought for a few seconds and then smiled, thinking about something they could do, as a team. Surely it would be a good idea, given what they did. Have something there all the time. "We should get an office dog."

"No, Pride. That's a bad idea. We already have LaSalle." Brody said that with a total straight face, and Pride just cracked up laughing, he felt like LaSalle being a puppy was going to be one of their in jokes for a while, and he was perfectly OK with that situation.

"Can we stop talking about work now." He then held up a spoonful of the cake and grinned at her, thinking about how much fun they could have had with this cake if they'd had some forethought. Not that it really mattered all that much. "Open up."

"Let's stop talking about work for the rest of the night." She smirked, and he hoped now that maybe talk wasn't something they would be doing all that much longer. If they were going to continue talking, he agreed work should be a vetoed topic.

"Deal." That was something he was more than willing to do, and instead of taking a spoonful of the cake he leant forward to kiss Brody again. He really felt like he was falling for her, and given her current desire to stay permanently unattached that was a bad thing, but for now he was going to enjoy it, and he was going to enjoying being with her eating cake, and whatever else they could get up to. She had a lot to make him pay for.


End file.
